diff --git a/backend/src/ref_backend/builder.py b/backend/src/ref_backend/builder.py
index 5b6052a9..c5029c80 100644
--- a/backend/src/ref_backend/builder.py
+++ b/backend/src/ref_backend/builder.py
@@ -72,9 +72,15 @@ class SPAStaticFiles(StaticFiles):
 
     async def get_response(self, path: str, scope: Scope) -> Response:
         try:
-            return await super().get_response(path, scope)
+            response = await super().get_response(path, scope)
         except HTTPException:
-            return await super().get_response(".", scope)
+            response = await super().get_response(".", scope)
+
+        # The HTML names hashed asset files that the next deploy removes, so it must be revalidated.
+        if response.headers.get("content-type", "").startswith("text/html"):
+            response.headers["Cache-Control"] = "no-cache"
+
+        return response
 
 
 def build_app(settings: Settings, ref_config: Config, database: Database) -> FastAPI:
diff --git a/changelog/88.fix.md b/changelog/88.fix.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4ec5644b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/88.fix.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Reloads the page when a chunk fails to load, so a tab left open across a deployment recovers instead of showing an error.
diff --git a/frontend/src/main.tsx b/frontend/src/main.tsx
index e91bb64f..fef5795f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/main.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/main.tsx
@@ -13,6 +13,41 @@ import { routeTree } from "@/routeTree.gen";
 
 import "./styles/global.css";
 
+// A deploy replaces the hashed asset files, so a tab left open asks for chunks that are gone.
+// Reload once to pick up the new build, rate limited so a persistent failure cannot loop.
+const RELOAD_KEY = "chunk-reload-at";
+const RELOAD_COOLDOWN_MS = 30_000;
+
+// Storage access throws when the browser blocks site data, so both calls are guarded.
+const readReloadedAt = (): number => {
+  try {
+    return Number(sessionStorage.getItem(RELOAD_KEY) ?? 0);
+  } catch {
+    return 0;
+  }
+};
+
+const markReloaded = (): boolean => {
+  try {
+    sessionStorage.setItem(RELOAD_KEY, String(Date.now()));
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+};
+
+window.addEventListener("vite:preloadError", (event) => {
+  if (Date.now() - readReloadedAt() < RELOAD_COOLDOWN_MS) {
+    return;
+  }
+  // Without a recorded timestamp there is no cooldown, so let the error surface instead of looping.
+  if (!markReloaded()) {
+    return;
+  }
+  event.preventDefault();
+  window.location.reload();
+});
+
 client.setConfig({ baseUrl: getStoredApiEndpoint() });
 const queryClient = new QueryClient();